To experience NYC as a graduate of the master’s programme Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship, entices to immerse in the entrepreneurial environment and start-up scene. In the following, I will list my ten impressions and takeaways as an Entrepreneur of NYC.
1. Hustling is a common skill.
The first thing you will notice immediately is the energy of the people. Every person in NYC strive for success and an upgrade of their current life and taking every risk to get there. You will adapt and get along this in this environment quickly. Especially, as an Entrepreneur, you will find like-minded people who are constantly searching for meaning in the richness of diversity in culture as well as profession.
2. Be smart, good-looking or a badass.
NYC is a city for everyone. However, if you compare the social media channels and exclude the visualisation of tourist places, you will soon find out that, especially Manhattan is represented by a small group of people: smart, good-looking or badass people. I can’t deny the obvious, the living costs in NYC are expensive. However, the advantage of meeting like-minded talents, which can easily emerge in a community. Therefore, despite the size of the city occasionally meeting new and knowledgeable businesses or investors is a highly likeable possibility.
3. Time and manner are key factors.
As a tourist, you’d have heard the clichés About NYC’ers being rude or more disinterested to the others than in other cities. However, in my impression, people care about each other and have manner. Surely, honking cars and road rascals you’ll find in every metropolitan city. Still, politeness is a dilemma. People are busy and or at least busy with their mind, which forces them to move and be in motion. It’s almost a tension existing in the city occurred by their profession.
4. Meetup to meet up.
NYC has over 8.6mn citizens in which you will find cultures, professions and creativity you might get addicted to. The most valuable side effect is, you get inspired by others. Especially, people share experience and are very outgoing. For entrepreneurs, it is easy to join the startup community of NYC, just meet up for it. I used Meetup (other community meeting apps are equally recommendable) and had the ability to get to know creatives, entrepreneurs and investors. Everything is about the right network, which plays an even higher role in such a city to not get drowned by other exceptional people.
5. The rich and poor share rides.
One astonishing phenomenon of inequality in major cities is to see in the metro in its diversity of people. Especially, the NYC metro has a large network far into the outer-scarfs of the suburbs. Still, its fascinating how both sides of the scale are commuting on a very narrow body their rides. As an Entrepreneur in NYC, I believe it is a social responsibility also to look around themselves in the metro. There is a high possibility that you might see a real customer problem that needs to be solved.
6. Creativity as a way of self-expression
One thing, I have completely underestimated is the art scene of NYC. Creatives from performing art to contemporary art are sharing their passion without any expectation in return. They live to do art and share their greatest stories through their work. I met artists, founders and entrepreneurs in different industries who moved here. The one commonality I have noticed is their way of self-expression through their passion.
7. Positivity surpasses rudeness.
One cliché you will hear often is that NYC’ers are rude. That’s not true, well not from a European perspective. Anyway, NYC’ers care and they care a lot about their community. Still, people are almost obsessed with their responsibilities while commuting, which makes them unaware of their immediate environment. However, if you catch one in a situation of awareness, you will figure out they are very supportive and most of all, positive. Interestingly, none is talking about this. Another phenomenon to share most likely worst experience rather than the good one. However, I sincerely believe that the positivity surpasses the rudeness.
8. No compromise on things that are important.
The city planners of Manhattan tell you an important message for life – independent on how famous you are, set principles and maintain them as long as you can; If you can’t, adapt them. For NYC this is referred to space. Particularly, Long Island are limited in their ability to expand in space, still, the city planners consider enough space in sideways, parks and reinvented metro tracks for the community. Working quite a while in the entrepreneurial environment, I know how important it is to set some time or priorities for things that are important to me. This remembers me of the book Principles by Ray Delio (no commercial interest).
9. Facial expressions tell life-stories.
On my way to the Empire, I remembered scenes from Ted Mosby (HIMYM) sharing the history of the Empire State Building to his fellows. It’s like magic to stand on the top floor, 123rd floor, and inhale the energy of the city in such a hight. Particularly people seemed like small dots, almost without purpose. This made me reflect on the perspective and impact we have on our planet. We, humans, tend to carry a huge weight of responsibility and problems on our shoulders. Sometimes, looking forward might block your view with all the distractions and information overflow. Fear of missing out something like new social media features, technologies such as blockchain, or even negative news to share compassion with other people. I realised how important it is to step back, reflect, meditate or simply take a second to notice the surroundings. In combination with principles, it helps to filter the right information relevant for your purpose.
10. The network of NYC.
One of the key principles every Entrepreneur know is the importance of a sufficient network with strong and weak ties. I have had some talks with entrepreneurs of businesses founded in NYC and moved to NYC. The most important take away message was you as an individual matter the most. No race, education, religion or origin is important. If you can empower other people for your idea in a collaborative manner, you will have high chances to come across the right people. Because, NYC has it both, high quantity of investors and entrepreneurs at one place.
I hope I could give you a glimpse idea of what it is like to explore the entrepreneurial ecosystem of NYC with its richness in diversity.